Scott Struthers – Bonhill

January 2018

Last chance for Vale sex offender who failed to turn up for unpaid work

A Vale man found with vile images showing extreme sexual abuse of children failed to turn up to do unpaid community work as part of his punishment.

Scott Struthers was hauled before Dumbarton Sheriff Court on Friday to answer for his failure to comply – but despite a sheriff’s misgivings about the Bonhill resident’s behaviour, the 38-year-old was given a “last, last chance” to do as he was told.

Struthers was placed on a three-year supervision order in May 2017 and told to carry out 250 hours of unpaid work within 10 months.

But the court was told Struthers had failed to show up to do his unpaid work on January 5 after deciding to go to his paid employment as a chef instead.

On a previous court appearance Struthers was placed on the sex offenders’ register for three years after he admitted taking, or permitting to be taken, indecent photographs or pseudo-photographs of children at his Braehead home between May 2015 and May 2016.

He also pleaded guilty to a further charge of being in possession of an “extreme pornographic image” at his home address on July 12, 2016.

At Friday’s hearing Struthers’ solicitor said her client had 171 hours of unpaid work still to do on the order but had failed to show up on two dates earlier this month.

Sheriff William Gallacher responded: “Last time I told him that if he failed to attend, for whatever reason, I would revoke the order and send him to prison. He’s not doing what I told him to do, so why shouldn’t I do that?

“What message does it send to this community if I say now ‘well, I didn’t really mean that’?”

Struthers’ solicitor said her client had been given an ultimatum by his employer that if he didn’t turn up for work on January 5 he would lose his job.

Sheriff Gallacher told Struthers: “This is your last, last chance. Don’t make the same mistake again.”

Continuing the case for a further review on April 13, the sheriff increased Struthers’ unpaid work as punishment for the breach. He now has 185 hours still to complete.